Unheralded contributors help Marlins snap road skid with comeback win

KANSAS CITY -- In order to snap a season-long six game road skid, the Marlins needed contributions from a cast of characters.

While usual suspects Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Nick Gordon came through with clutch hits in Tuesday night’s 2-1 comeback win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, three others made an impact.

RHP Yonny Chirinos
Chirinos, who signed a Minor League deal on Feb. 12, was in contention for a rotation spot as a non-roster invite at big league camp but missed out on the Opening Day roster. He took care of business at Triple-A Jacksonville with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 12 starts.

With seven starters on the injured list, Chirinos has gone five innings and kept the club in the ballgame in each of his first two starts -- both Miami victories. He allowed just one run on three hits while striking out five and walking three in a 78-pitch start. His velocity ranged from 83.4-94 mph.

“We had a couple chances in the third and fourth,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We couldn’t capitalize. He’s got an interesting mix. He’s got a sinker that he throws at the top of the zone, he can get it under the barrel. He’s got the slider and split. He’s a challenging pitcher.”

If there’s one thing Chirinos needs to work on, it's holding runners. St. Louis stole three bases in his club debut, and Maikel Garcia nabbed second and third following a leadoff walk in the first on Tuesday. Garcia would score on Vinnie Pasquantino’s RBI blooper to center -- the lone blemish on Chirinos’ line.

“I believe the innings, all the times I've been in baseball, has taught me how to manage this situation,” Chirinos said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “And the more you can manage a situation like this, you can have more success in the game.”

LHP A.J. Puk
After Chirinos, four relievers combined to toss four scoreless innings of one-hit ball.

Manager Skip Schumaker turned first to Puk, who retired all four batters he faced for his sixth multi-inning outing since returning to the bullpen. After surrendering a three-run homer on June 9, he has given up one earned run with nine strikeouts and no walks across 7 2/3 frames.

Puk changed the grip on his slider, reverting back to the one he used his entire career until changing it to a sweeper in 2023. It is more firm this way, averaging 86.4 mph on Tuesday. His fastball velocity (95.4 mph) was also up.

“I've been watching a lot of video of my reliever mechanics,” Puk said. “I thought it was going to be a little quicker transition from the mechanics I changed to start to come back to reliever, but just kind of going back and watching some old video of me throwing and just trying to get back to that.”

C Ali Sánchez
When Miami designated for assignment Christian Bethancourt, that meant Sánchez would fill his role of starting a few times a week. The Marlins had acquired Sánchez, who hadn’t appeared in the Majors since 2021, from the Cubs in exchange for cash last Wednesday.

Tuesday marked just his second start in six days, but he contributed on both sides of the ball. Not only did he help the pitching staff navigate Kansas City’s lineup, but he also contributed in the decisive seventh-inning rally.

“He prepares,” Schumaker said. “He knows how to get everybody out. I know when a pinch-hitter comes out or up to the plate, he already knows how to attack them, which shows that he's been game planning the whole series since we got here in Kansas City. He has the trust of the pitchers when he goes out there and talks to them, and that's a really good sign, especially for a young catcher. He's taking good at bats, too, which is good. Bunted the other day, had a good hit today. So overall a really impressive last couple of days.”

Unable to muster anything against Royals starter Seth Lugo through six innings, the Marlins turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.

After the game-tying run scored on Gordon’s infield hit, Sánchez’s single -- his first hit as a Marlin and first in the Majors since 2021 -- chased righty Carlos Hernández. Southpaw Will Smith entered to face the left-handed-hitting Chisholm, whose comebacker deflected off Smith. With an elite sprint speed of 30 ft/sec, Chisholm forced an errant throw to first from Smith to drive in the go-ahead run.

“I feel great,” Sánchez said. “Getting that hit in that situation and getting the W again, I feel great.”